The Manila Economic and Cultural Office in cooperation with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office inaugurated over the weekend a button mushroom farm project in Baguio City.

MECO Chairman and Resident Representative Angelito T. Banayo led the turnover of the Taiwan-sponsored facility inside the Bureau of Plant Industry compound to officials of the Department of Agriculture in the city which was also witnessed by newly-elected Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong and TECO representative Michael Hsu.

The project will enable the regional agriculture office to train and assist farmers in the Cordillera region in cultivating and producing button mushrooms using high-end technology and research from Taiwan.

Magalong welcomed the project as a boost to his efforts to provide livelihood programs to his constituents as he thanked both MECO and TECO for choosing Baguio as its pilot area for the project.

Magalong pledged to expand the MECO-TECO initiative during his term as city mayor.

Banayo said similar projects aimed at bringing home to the Philippines available agriculture technology from Taiwan are in the pipeline to help local farmers boost their productivity.

Banayo also lauded Taiwan’s strides in agricultural technology advancement which is known in Europe and the United States.